2020 Joint Mathematics Meetings
Gabriele Meyer
Artists
Gabriele Meyer
Senior Lecturer Emerita
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
Statement
I like to crochet hyperbolic surfaces. More recently I experiment with surfaces that are reinforced with ribs that I crochet on one side of the surface. This makes the surface much more stable and allows me to make a larger object with potentially more holes to let light through. I am fascinated by the effect of illumination on a surface, in particular its use as a light feature.
Artworks
Hyperbolic Disc with Geodesic Ribs
38 x 58 x 56 cm
yarn and plastic line
2019
This is a hyperbolic disc that was crocheted using triples and chain stitches, thereby generating large holes. For minimal stabilization, every second row was singles around plastic line. Still the surface was very floppy and did not hold its shape. I crocheted a rim of singles around the perimeter and then added ribs reinforced with plastic line. These ribs follow geodesics:
a vertical line from the top to the bottom of the disc and then several along circles with centers along the north-south axis and perpendicular to the perimeter of the disc.
This made the surface hold its shape.
For lighting, I threaded a string of fairy lights through the crochet.